title: Chiral structure of thiolate-protected 28-gold-atom nanocluster determined by X-ray crystallography.
abstract: We report the crystal structure of a new nanocluster formulated as Au28(TBBT)20, where TBBT = 4-tert-butylbenzenethiolate. It exhibits a rod-like Au20 kernel consisting of two interpenetrating cuboctahedra. The kernel is protected by four dimeric "staples" (-SR-Au-SR-Au-SR-) and eight bridging thiolates (-SR-). The unit cell of Au28(TBBT)20 single crystals contains a pair of enantiomers. The origin of chirality is primarily rooted in the rotating arrangement of the four dimeric staples as well as the arrangement of the bridging thiolates (quasi-D2 symmetry). The enantiomers were separated by chiral HPLC and characterized by circular dichroism spectroscopy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Chenjie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Anindita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Nathaniel L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Rosi
authors.forename: Rongchao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D050607:Organogold Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D050607:Organogold Compounds; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D006046:Gold